In recent years, various media such as a digital versatile disc (DVD), a Blu-ray Disc (registered trademark), or a flash memory have been used as information recording medium. In particular, in recent years, the use of memory cards such as a USB memory mounting a large-capacity flash memory thereon has been popularized. Users can record content such as music or movies on various information recording media, load the media into a reproduction device (player), and reproduce the content.
However, copyrights, distribution rights, and the like of most content such as music data or image data are possessed by the authors or sellers thereof. Therefore, when content is provided to users, certain restrictions on use are generally set. That is, use of content is permitted only to users having a legitimate right to use, whereas unregulated use such as copying without consent is not permitted.
For example, the advanced access content system (AACS) is known as a standard for controlling the use of content. The AACS standard defines a use control configuration for content recorded on a Blu-ray Disc (registered trademark), for example. Specifically, the AACS standard specifies an algorithm or the like in which encrypted content is recorded, for example, on the Blu-ray Disc (registered trademark), and which can restrict users capable of acquiring an encryption key for the encrypted content only to legitimate users.
However, the present AACS standard has a specification for a use control configuration of content recorded on discs such as a Blu-ray Disc (registered trademark) but does not have sufficient specification for content recorded on flash memories such as, for example, a memory card. Thus, there is a possibility that copyright protection of content recorded on such a memory card is not sufficient. Therefore, there is a demand for establishing a use control configuration for controlling the use of content using media such as a memory card.
For example, the AACS standard specifies the following specifications as a use control configuration for content recorded on discs such as a Blu-ray Disc (registered trademark):
(a) a specification for the use of content copied from a medium (for example, a ROM disc), on which content is already recorded, to a disc such as a Blu-ray Disc (registered trademark); and
(b) a specification for the use of content that is downloaded from a server and recorded on a disc such as a Blu-ray Disc (registered trademark).
For example, the AACS standard specifies control of the use of such content.
The AACS standard specifies managed copy (MC) in which, when content is copied between media in accordance with the specification (a), the copying is permitted only when copy permission information is acquired from a management server.
Moreover, the AACS standard specifies various download forms as a process of downloading content from a server in accordance with the specification (b).
Examples of the download types include electric sell through (EST) that uses user devices such as a PC, and
manufacturing on demand (MoD) that uses shared terminals installed in a convenience store or the like.
Even when recording content on a disc through these downloading forms and using the content, it is necessary to perform the processes in accordance with predetermined rules.
Note that these processes are disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-98765), for example.
However, as described above, the AACS standard is intended to control the use of content recorded on discs such as a Blu-ray Disc (registered trademark), but does not have a sufficient specification for controlling the use of content recorded on flash memory-type memory cards including USB memories and the like.
For example, content downloaded from a content providing server, broadcast content, and the like are often recorded on a hard disk as a user device such as a PC or a BD recorder. However, when such content is attempted to be used in a mobile device, it is necessary to move the content recorded on the hard disk to a memory card as a small medium, such as a flash memory or a USB hard disk.
Such a process of outputting content is typically called “export”.
For example, downloaded content or streaming content once recorded on a hard disk can be copied without limitation if copying (bit-for-bit copy) is performed for another recording medium.
Such unlimited copying is not favorable from the viewpoint of copyright protection.
Some configurations for restricting such unregulated copying have been proposed and used.
For example, there is a configuration in which, when digital data input from an outside is recorded on a hard disk and the like, reproduction of the recorded content is only permitted to a particular device such as one device that executes a data recording process. This configuration is a configuration that connects the use of content to one device, and is so-called “device-bind”.
However, such restriction may lack convenience for the user, such as no backup copying being created.
Note that, as a configuration for controlling the transfer of content that has been previously proposed or used, there are following configurations, for example.
In CRPM/SD-Card, which is a standard corresponding to an SD card specified in content protection for recordable media (CPRM) that specifies copyright protection technology related to recording media such as DVDs, a content use control configuration is specified, in which content reproduction is not permitted only on a medium having a particular ID.
Further, in digital living network alliance (DLNA) that specifies a content use configuration in a home network, a configuration is specified, in which leakage to an outside is prevented using a secure transmission path, and streaming distribution of content is performed between devices, which are connected to the network.
In this configuration, it is possible to perform streaming distribution of content recorded in a recorder in the first floor to a PC in the second floor, for example.
Further, the standard of Blu-ray Disc (BD) specifies specification “for permitting recording of content on a BD by recording data (for example, electronic signature, and the like) that associates a medium and content online, and for eliminating unauthorized use of content by having a verification process such as signature verification as a condition of the use of content”. This specification is standardized as a prepared video, for example.
In this way, various standards and specifications are merely designed in a range limited to specific use of content. However, when content is used in setting other than the above-described various standardized content use configurations, the use is out of application of the standards, and sufficient copyright protection is not necessarily performed.